I suggest you read: “Designers don’t read”
A great title from a good writer.
Austin Howe is a writer that was referred to me by Dave Williams, Liquid’s Creative Director in Portland. We were pitching a job for Microsoft, and we needed a writer on the team. Dave suggested Austin, and also told me about Austin’s recent book, “Designers don’t read”…which I bought and started reading immediately.I love this book. It is funny and it hits home. However, I think that Austin gives designers too much credit. Unfortunately, most ‘designers’ that I know live up to this title all too literally - sadly, too many really don’t read. They browse magazines and study the most insignificant details in the tiny pictures that document design projects in magazines like Communication Arts or ID. Occasionally they may read an article hoping to learn some gossip on the latest ‘hot’ design firm…but it is a very rare designer that might read an article about design theory, history…and even less designers will read an article about business.At some point in his career, Marty Neumeier, our Director of Transformation, published a magazine called Critique. This was a beautifully designed publication with lots of pretty pictures…but it was published to start a critical conversation about design. Unfortunately, the magazine is no longer around - a victim of the lack of interest in reading.In my opinion, too many designers treat copy as “the stuff that you need to have in a layout to balance out the visuals”. Half the time they barely read it. It drives me crazy! Well…I hope they will make an exception for this short, inspiring book. A book that is nicely laid out, by the way - but has no pictures. Just smart and funny words that make you think…and will leave you inspired.Check it out on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/yzusazrIf any of you have read it…let me know what you think.
No commentsLiquid Agency CCO writes about the London brand.
Alfredo Muccino writes about what the London brand means.
Below is an article written by Alfredo Muccino for CorpComms Magazine - the only monthly magazine targeted at the in-house communicator. The magazine offers advice and informative articles on a range of topical subjects, such as social and digital media, internal communications, sponsorship and CSR. Based in London and published by Hardy Media, the publication is edited by Helen Dunne, who contacted Liquid to get our thoughts on the London brand, since Boris Johnson, London’s mayor recently announced that he wanted to re-brand the city.
Having just returned from the British capital, Alfredo Muccino, Liquid’s Chief Creative Officer wrote a short article which appeared in the latest issue of the magazine.
Here’s the article. If you have any comments, we’d love to hear them.
London: The intersection of old and new.
“Some destination brands are easier to define than others. Las Vegas is defined by What happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas, and the brand promise is very clear. Vegas is a place where you’re invited to be wild. Everyone who goes there knows what to expect, and they immediately belong to the tribe. And, of course, Las Vegas delivers. In Vegas you are transported into a surreal landscape of make-believe palaces and landmarks, adult entertainment, gambling, bars and dancing girls. The value proposition is clear and anchored in truth.
So how can we define the brand for a city like London? What sets London apart from other cities? Why should I choose to visit London instead of Paris? What does London deliver? Is it the Royal family and Buckingham Palace? Is it the sense of tradition and propriety? Is it the punk movement that today feels rather traditional? Is it the pub culture, the warm beer and fish and chips? I think that these are outdated stereotypes, and in my opinion London delivers a very different experience today. The brand should capitalize on that.
Today, London is a vibrant multi-cultured centre where the modern provides a great contrast to tradition. You see this in the people, the architecture, the music, the food and the fashion. I find London to be sophisticated and energetic, filled with people who are creative, interesting, highly educated and extremely cosmopolitan. The city is not just a destination for business people but for visitors who seek a dynamic, entertaining and inspiring experience. In my opinion the London brand should leverage the idea of modernity challenging the past. It is in this contrast that lie the refreshing ideas that make London exciting and memorable. London is the cross roads of old and new…past and future…tradition and rebellion. This is something worth experiencing and something that London delivers with plenty of charm.
1 commentLiquid is included in new “Copywriting” book by Mark Shaw.
New book includes an interview with Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer for Liquid Agency and projects for Olive and City of San Jose.
A couple of projects produced by Liquid Agency are featured in the recently published book,”Copywriting: Successful Writing for Design, Advertising and Marketing” by Mark Shaw. Published by Laurence King, a company focused on the creative arts, with a global reputation for books that are acclaimed for their quality, vision and erudition, this book makes a nice addition to any library that includes books on commuications, marketing or branding.
Mark Shaw ran across some of Liquid’s work in the process of doing research for his latest book and called Alfredo Muccino to discuss potential inclusion in his new book. Alfredo and Mark chatted on the phone…Mark calling from London while Alfredo paced his office in California. The result of the conversation is a few pages focused on the approach that Liquid took to develop the brand voice and tone for Olive Media. Additionally, Mark decided to also include one of the posters that Liquid designed for “Music in the Park”, the annual music festival that takes place in San Jose.
“Copywriting” is a great book, and I say this not because Mark has included our work, but because well written copy and a clear brand voice are absolutely necessary in order to establish differentiation from the competition and accomplish communication and marketing objectives…and anyone that is interested in producing effective work should keep this in mind! Mark ought to know…he is the founder of Jupiter Creative, a very successful creative communications agency specializing in retail and consumer brands….and one of the best in England (and beyond).
To purchase the book on Amazon, just click here: “Copywriting: Successful Writing for Design, Advertising and Marketing” by Mark Shaw.
3 commentsLiquid Agency delivers seminar on retail branding practices at GlobalShop09.
Between March 23rd and 25th, Las Vegas became the destination of choice for the most influential retail marketing people in the world, as they gathered for GlobalShop, the industry’s biggest expo and conference. GlobalShop is where retailers and brand managers go to find retail design, in-store marketing, and technology solutions – and it is where Alfredo Muccino, the Chief Creative Officer of Liquid Agency delivered a timely presentation addressing how brands can leverage technology to stimulate sales at retail.
This year’s event was a definite reflection of the state of the industry. More than other sectors, retailers are feeling the effects of the economic downturn, which means that with lower revenues and decreased spending, many people that usually attend the show decided to eliminate this year’s trip from their budget. The crowds were thinner, yet the atmosphere was far from somber and while organizations like POPAI – The Global Association for Marketing at Retail – celebrated the growth in their membership, retailers looked for ways to create more impact for less money.
Alfredo Muccino delivered a one hour presentation titled “How are brands using technology to drive sales” that was attended by a cross section of retailers, brands and their agencies. The presentation uses a variety of case studies (including best practices from Apple, adidas, Intel, Starbucks and Nike) to illustrate how savvy brands are incorporating social media, mobile technology, RFID, widgets, e-couponing and other technologies to create traffic, drive sales and promote loyalty.
We’re making the presentation available here, so feel free to download it and let us know if you have any questions. Download: The GlobalShop 09 Seminar Presentation. If you have specific questions, please contact:
alfredo@liquidagency.com
Alfredo Muccino to speak at GlobalShop09.
Alfredo Muccino, Liquid Agency’s CCO, is scheduled to deliver a seminar about using technology to drive sales at retail.
GlobalShop is the largest annual tradeshow of its kind in the world, featuring more than 800 exhibitors of fixtures, digital signage, visual merchandising and in-store marketing products. GlobalShop’s conference program which has hosted more than 50,000 attendees features experts in store design and shopper marketing…and Alfredo Muccino, the Chief Creative Officer is amongst the speakers at this year’s conference.
As part of GlobalShop 09, Alfredo will be delivering a presentation on March 24th at The Sands Expo in Las Vegas titled “Technology, Brands and Retail: The New Landscape”. The one hour seminar will address the many different ways that brands are leveraging technology to make a bigger impact at retail. Using real case studies and current examples, Alfredo will explore how savvy brands are connecting with customers online and in-store using new technologies—ranging from social media to mobile devices. The presentation will focus on how brand managers and retailers can leverage the opportunities inherent in this new marketing landscape to create traffic, drive sales and build more loyalty from customers.
Last year Alfredo delivered a seminar on “Building Brands at Retail”, which was very well received and was attended by over 300 retail professionals, including retailers, brand marketers, creative agencies and merchandising fabricators.
Due to the difficult economic landscape, everyone expects that attendance at this year’s show will not be as high as last year’s event - however the folks that will attend will be the ones that are serious about their business. According to Alfredo, “The retail industry is being gravely affected by the economic downturn, and every brand and every retailer is interested in ways to drive sales. This seminar will help people understand how they can leverage technology to do just that - and do it cost-effectively”.
For more information visit www.globalshop.com
No commentsLiquid Agency re-brands the California Association of Museums.
On Thursday morning, February 25, 2009, Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer at Liquid Agency, unveiled the new brand identity that Liquid designed for the California Association of Museums at the Annual CAM Conference in San Francisco. This year’s conference was held at the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco, and was well attended by members of the association from across the State. To very positive response, the new logo was shown to CAM members for the first time immediately following a panel discussion moderated by Don Sanchez, the arts and entertainment reporter for ABC7.
A few months ago, Liquid Agency was hired by the CAM board of directors to craft a new brand identity for the association. The project was initiated in part as a way to celebrate the organization’s 30 year anniversary, but also to represent the growth of the association – in terms of its membership and also in terms of the services and resources that it provides its members. As the next phase in the assignment, Liquid will start designing a new website and the organization’s marketing collateral.
According to Alfredo Muccino, “Designing the new logo and brand identity for CAM was a distinct honor. Getting a chance to work with an organization that helps support museums in California and contributes to the cultural wealth of our communities is extremely rewarding at many levels. Liquid has participated in the branding of many local cultural projects, but this one was special since its reach was statewide.”
The design work was well received by the association members and its board of directors. Here’s a quote from Celeste DeWald, Executive Director, California Association of Museums: “We’re very pleased with the work that Liquid Agency has done on our brand identity. The new logo is distinctive and clean - and it reflects the diverse and dynamic nature of the association and its members. We’re very excited about it.”
Above are images of the current logo and the new one, as well as applications of the new identity to conference bags, t-shirts and business cards. As soon as we launch the new website, we will let you know.
In the meantime, we’d love to hear your opinion on the new identity.
2 commentsTake a look at which brands stood out at CES 2009!
In early January, Las Vegas hosts the biggest technology marketing event of the year, the Consumer Electronics Show.
For the last ten years, we have made the pilgrimage to CES in order to observe how consumer electronics brands are presenting their latest products and positioning themselves.
CES 2009 was no exception. We walked the show floor and noticed what brands were doing with their booths and their marketing campaigns. We took a lot of pictures, then published a report that showcases what caught our attention.
This year’s report includes a review of the following brands: Edifier, HiVi, BUILT, SanDisk, Lexar, HP, Kodak, Sony, BOSCH, LG, Microsoft, Intel, Motorola, Samsung, and DMC.
The report is available for free on our home page, under “downloads”.
Here’s the link: http://www.liquidagency.com/
Check it out, and let me know what you think.
Ciao!!!
Alfredo Muccino Chief Creative Officer Liquid Agency
No commentsRebranding… Let’s hope it’s more than cosmetic
Is it just me or is 2009 going to be the Year of the Rebrand? From political parties to Pepsi, from banks to bailout programs - every day companies, countries and entire industries are trying to transform themselves. Some rebranding efforts, like those coming from beverage giant PepsiCo seem purely cosmetic with not much changed besides the exterior package.
More interesting to watch will be those coming from the troubled financial industry where Wall Street and Main Street banks must rebuild trust in their brands while simultaneously grappling with how to integrate acquisitions or spin off once powerful brands. These financial industry rebrands will be challenging which makes them fun to watch. Here are a few rebrand moves that brand marketers will find interesting.
Bank of America deals with the Bull
Over the years, Bank America has abandoned dozens of acquired institutions brand names opting to bring them into the B of A fold. Now the bank is breaking with tradition as it combines operations with its latest $24 billion dollar purchase - Merrill Lynch. This time, both the Merrill Lynch name and iconic bull logo will survive.
Here’s how they plan to manage the two brands:Bank of America Merrill Lynch will be the name of the new corporate and investor bank. It will fly under the Bank of America flag identity. Merrill Lynch Wealth Management will be the combined firms’ financial advisory, brokerage business – this group will retain the iconic bull logo.I’ll be curious to see how this dual brand strategy plays out over time - provided B of A gets through its latest public relations disaster. AIG subsidiary runs away from homeAIG Financial Advisors, a subsidiary of bailout poster child AIG is changing its name in an effort to distance itself from its continually troubled parent. But rebranding itself as SagePoint Financial – seems a bit hard to swallow. I have a hard time associating wisdom and knowledge to anything ever connected with AIG. Perhaps this rebrand should be put on pause – allowing the company to rethink how it should move forward – keeping in mind that a brand is not what you say it is – it’s what customers say it is. They’ve got a difficult and maybe impossible task ahead – but this rebrand went too far.Watch for more posts coming on the financial industry’s rebranding efforts - I’ve got to think this is only the beginning.
2 commentsThe Designful Company: Another thought provoking book by Marty Neumeier
The Designful Company is the latest installation in an intriguing series of books by Marty Neumeier, who has also authored The Brand Gap, and ZAG.
I think it is quite appropriate that I write this blog entry on the heels of today’s historic Presidential Inauguration. After reading Marty Neumeier’s latest book, I will think of Obama as the Designer in Chief….even if he did not use the word “design” in his inaugural address. 
Each of Marty Neumeier’s books is described as a whiteboard overview, and in fact, the books are not your typical business book or design compendium. Mr. Neumeier (and I will refer to him as Marty, from here on) proposes big ideas in simple words that leave you wanting for more. I find that his books raise more questions than they provide answers…and it is my experience that they stimulate great professional dialogue and a fair share of stimulating thinking.
In The Brand Gap, Marty tackled the gap that exists between business strategy and creative execution…or, as he eloquently puts it, “how to bridge the gap between logic and magic”. In ZAG, he discussed the need for radical differentiation, advocating the advantages of zagging when everyone is zigging.
The premise of The Designful Company is that in order to gain control of a company’s future we need to embrace the practice of design. Of course, in Marty’s language “design” is a very powerful transformational tool that does a lot more than just “styling”. Instead, Marty’s design is about process and people and ideas driven by a desire to improve “performance” not aesthetics.
Within our business, I’ve always insisted that “design” has little or nothing to do with “art”. I believe that design is about creating purposeful change for the better…and I think that for design to be effective one must have a clear set of goals. In his book, Marty argues that the ultimate goal of a sustainable business is long term profit….and design is the starting point for a chain reaction that goes something like this: Design drives innovation; innovation powers brand development; brand builds loyalty; and loyalty results in profits.
Of course, I don’t agree with everything that Marty proposes…but there’s plenty in the book that I found to be intriguing and inspiring. For example, I loved the way that Marty re-invents the idea of aesthetics, and catapults it to an entirely new level that goes well beyond making things pretty. Marty’s chart titled the “Aesthetics of Management” completely redefines the meaning of aesthetic principles in terms of business issues…and I will definitely be using this in future meetings and presentations (and, obsequiously credit the author). In this chart “Contrast” deals with “How do we differentiate ourselves?”. “Depth” defines “How can we succeed at many levels”. And, “Focus” refers to “What should we NOT do?”.
Halfway through the book, Marty suggests that there are 16 “levers for change”…and that these “levers” hold the key to designing a new future for business. Apparently, you don’t have to use all of them…and they need not be applied in any particular order. I found that some are more helpful than others…but I guess that this is exactly the point: Marty is inviting us to pick and choose which to use and which not to use…and therefore become the designers he invites us all to be.
In summary I really recommend this book, however, I found Marty Neumeier to be a little misleading when he described his book as a “quick read”. That may very well be, but The Designful Company is far from light reading. It is a thought provoking, idea changing, extremely powerful book that will greatly influence the way I think about how design can change my company, the companies of my clients, and the world as a whole.
I’d love to hear what any of you think about this book.
Alfredo Muccino
Chief Creative Officer
Liquid Agency
The Innovation Funnel
The Innovation Funnel
by Marty Neumeier, author of The Designful Company
The biggest hurdle to innovation is the corporate longing for certainty about costs, market size, revenues, profits, and other quantities, all of which can’t be known when an idea is new. Ironically, there seems to be no hurdle to investing in dying businesses, decaying strategies, and shrinking markets, all of which can be seen without a crystal ball. It seems we prefer the devil we know.
The best way to get around the devil—and all his advocates—is to allow the company to crank up its confidence stage by stage. Luckily, there’s already a workable model for this process: stage-gate investing. It was pioneered by oil entrepreneurs who lacked certainty about which wells would produce black gold and which would fizzle. It was further developed by venture capitalists who lacked certainty about how trends, markets, and people would combine to produce profits.
There are four funding stages in this process:
With stage-gate investing, an idea is vetted stage by stage using a kind of natural selection, so that big bets are only made after the idea has been largely de-risked.
Stage-gate investing works best when you have a portfolio of innovations in the pipeline. The vetting process then acts a filtration system that separates the great ideas from those that are underpowered, short-sighted, unstrategic, or off-brand. It creates an innovation funnel that lets you vet new concepts step by step, reducing the fear of failure at each step.
Here’s a simple tool that will help you and your team remove the risk from risky projects.
5 comments
